Bangladesh actor asked to leave India after TMC poll show

KOLKATA: Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed was forced to leave India on Tuesday after he was order by the ministry of home affairs to exit the country for campaigning for the Trinamool on Sunday.


“Ferdous Ahmed left the country this (Tuesday) afternoon after MHA asked the actor to leave India,” an official told TOI.

MHA has sought a report from the

West Bengal

government and the local Foreigner Regional Registration Office, prompting FRRO to probe whether the actor had violated work visa rules by campaigning for TMC’s

Raiganj

candidate Kanaia Lal Agarwal.

Bangladesh

deputy high commission officials confirmed that Ahmed’s visa did not allow him to take part in political campaigns. The officials had called the actor on Sunday itself to inquire about the issue after his campaigning sparked a political stir. Ahmed reportedly replied that he was shooting near Raiganj on Sunday afternoon and “could not turn down TMC’s request for campaigning”.

TOI called Ahmed on his India and Bangladesh mobile phone but there was no response.

Ahmed’s colleague expressed surprise at the actor getting embroiled in this controversy. “He has been coming to Kolkata for over two decades now and has seen many elections (in India). He has never been involved in any such controversy.”

The MHA action came a day after state BJP vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar sent a WhatsApp complaint to state chief electoral officer Aariz Aftab along with a clip of Ahmed’s Sunday campaign.


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